Above The Shore
by EllieMolina
Summary: Ariel, wanting to be a human all of her life, never understood why her father didn't approve of the human way of life. After a Sea-Devil named Ursula strikes up a deal with Ariel, she has one week to prove humans aren't evil or she'll stay Ursula's slave.
1. Chapter 1: Never Understanding

**A/N: I'm really excited about this story, and I hope you like it!**

**Disclaimer: All of the rights to The Little Mermaid go to Disney. I own nothing but some of the plot.**

The air was cold as it hit Ariel's skin when she rose up from the water, engaging in her normal routine of talking with Scuttle about her new finds from shipwrecks. She sat up on a large rock that came up above the surface as she pulled out an object, one that she had never seen before, from her bag. Everything human was so strange to her. Nothing made sense until she asked Scuttle what it was used for, and even sometimes she was still a little unsure about the human world.

"But Scuttle," Ariel began, "How does it work? What do they use it for?"

Scuttle examined the long, hollow object, "I'm not quite sure…it looks like some contraption…" He tried to look through it, but to no avail. Then, he blew into it and it made a loud noise that startled the mermaid who was sitting next to him, "Sorry Ariel. It looks like some sort of…"

"Music!" Ariel squealed, "It makes music. I've never seen something like this before. It's so smooth and…just not like anything we use down there."

The human world was such a mystery to the young mermaid. She yearned to live and walk amongst the human folk. She wanted to know what it felt like to have two legs, not fins. Living in her father's kingdom, she felt trapped. There was something out there, on land, that was waiting for her. She could feel it. There was something, maybe someone, calling out for her. Silently perhaps, but still needing to know her. She wanted, more than anything, to experience adventure.

Just as she was about to pull another thing out of her bag, a small crab interrupted her, "Ariel…" He said in a thick Jamaican accent, "We must get going. Your father will be worried about you and-"

"Oh, fine Sebastian…" Ariel rolled her eyes at the crustacean and turned back to Scuttle, "Thank you for everything. I'll talk to you tomorrow. Bye Scuttle!"

She jumped back into the water and followed Sebastian back down to the kingdom, listening to his lecture about how it wasn't safe for her on land, and that she shouldn't go up there anymore or her father would kill her. She knew that could be true. Her father just didn't understand her feelings. He didn't share the same dreams as she did, and he wasn't willing to understand how she felt about his restrictions. She needed to be free to do whatever she wanted. She couldn't take another day of not being understood.

"Sebastian…" She started as they swam through Atlantica, heading towards her father's throne room, "Do you think he'll ever understand me?"

"Your father, he will come around. He loves you. You just have to give him the time." Sebastian replied.

Ariel sighed as they finally entered the throne room and saw her father sitting there, accompanied by Ariel's sisters. They all turned and looked at her. She tried to smile, but her father had a stern look on his face. She knew she was late, but her father had to understand. She needed time to be herself. She couldn't be like her sisters, content with living the lives they've always lived. It wasn't for her.

She stopped next to her sister Attina, "Sorry I'm late, daddy. I just got sidetracked and-"

"Ariel," Triton's voice boomed throughout the room, "It's your responsibility to be here with your sisters. Young lady, you need to learn the importance of your title. A princess shouldn't go beyond the borders of Atlantica without my supervision."

She looked from her father, then to her sisters, but they didn't look back at her. Noticing she had no one else backing her up, she decided to speak, "Daddy…you don't understand…I just thought-"

A flash of compassion crossed Triton's face, but he didn't crack, "But you aren't thinking Ariel. All I want for you is to understand why I enforce these rules. I just want you to be safe."

"No…" She couldn't handle it anymore, "You just don't want me to be myself. But, I want to learn new things. I can't take this anymore…" Ariel seemed as if she were going to cry, but she willed herself not to, "I just…I just want something different."

Ariel swam out of the room as fast as she could. She left the castle and found the grotto where she kept her most prized possessions. There was a stillness in the water and it comforted her. She was alone, exactly how she wanted it at that moment. Alone. But she knew she didn't want to be alone forever. She took a statuette of a couple dancing down from one of her shelves and held it close to her. _Why can't I have what they have?_ She thought to herself. She didn't mean love, but legs.

"Oh…" She sighed, "If only…"

She sat down and caressed the statuette. _What should I do?_ She asked herself silently. She looked around and sighed. There were so many great things that filled the grotto, and they were all made by humans. She knew her father wouldn't approve of any of this. All she knew was that he hated humans and that there was no persuading him on that subject. She couldn't understand why. Everything that humans made was beautiful, smart, and there was nothing Ariel could find to dislike.

"There's something there inside of my heart

Under my skin, right through my fins

I know that it's real, these things I feel

It's a part of me, so clearly seen

But ever so hidden

How can I live, how can I love

If there's something missing?

My life here is through

And all I need to do

Is learn to walk, learn to move

Up above the ocean

Onto the sand

Where I'm on land

And I know, I can finally be

The true me, always free

That's all I need…" She sang to herself, then set down the statuette beside her.

Ariel felt a presence beside her and turned around to find Attina behind her, a solemn look on her face. She turned back around and swam up to put the statuette back in its rightful place. Ariel wasn't in the mood to talk to her sister about anything. _Had she followed me here?_ She wondered, but decided that she must have. No one else, but Flounder and Sebastian, knew where the grotto was.

"What do you want?" Ariel asked her sister without looking at her, "Did you follow me here?"

Attina moved toward her sister and put her hand on her shoulder, "Ariel…we need to talk."

"Why? So you can be just like dad, trying to hold me back and…and not letting me live my life?" She asked accusingly.

"Of course not…" Attina tried to comfort her youngest sister, "I just wanted to see if you were okay…if you needed anything. I worry about you Ariel. I really do. And that song…"

"So you did follow me." It was more of a statement than anything, and Ariel didn't want to hear anything else, "I'd just rather be alone if you don't mind."

She shrugged off her sister's hand and swam up and out of the grotto, looking behind her and making sure her sister wasn't following her. She didn't know what she was going to do next. She contemplated running away, but she didn't want to hurt her father like that. All she wanted was for him to stop judging her and just let her live how she wanted to.

Although it might seem like she was only trying to disobey and act rebellious, Ariel's dreams had nothing to do with being an unruly teenager. The dream that she held in her heart was truly one that she would make sure she made real. If she could, she wouldn't keep secrets from her father and sisters, but it's what she had to do. _They wouldn't understand anyway. They never do. I could say anything to try and make them understand, but it wouldn't go through to them._ She felt alone in her dreams, and it didn't it well with her.

"There must be something I can do…" Ariel said out loud to herself once she got to the surface of the water.

Ariel found the rock she had, earlier that day, talked to scuttle about the instrument she had found. She felt the weight of the satchel, still on her shoulder, and reached inside. She inspected the silver, smooth instrument in her hands and blew into the end that Scuttle had. The noise was loud and a tad off key, but Ariel didn't mind. She pushed down on two of the keys and blew into it again, creating a much more melodic tone than the first try. Yet, out of the corner of her eye, she saw a ship float slowly along. There seemed to be a bustle that enthralled Ariel and she blew once more into the instrument before she stuffed it back into her satchel and jumped into the water, heading towards the excitement of the ship.


	2. Chapter 2: Man On The Ship

**A/N: I hope I'll be able to keep up with this story, but I think it'll be okay. Oh, and the story uses some of the main points of the story, but I've changed a few things to make it my own. So this won't be just a copy of the original Disney story.**

**Disclaimer: All of the rights to The Little Mermaid go to Disney. I own nothing but some of the plot.**

Ch. 2: Man On The Ship

Ariel swam until she was up at the side of the boat. She looked up and could hear the party that was going on up on the ship deck. She looked around to make sure no one had followed her, but instead, she came face to face with Attina. _Why won't she just leave me alone?_ Ariel asked herself, but there was a part of her that was happy her eldest sister was with her. She just didn't know how to explain her dream to her.

"Attina…what are you doing here?"

Her sister smiled, "I followed you again, sorry. But…I really want to understand…"

"Understand what?" She asked, unsure of what Attina meant, until it hit her, "You really want to understand my dream?"

She laughed at her sister's smile, "Of course. I am your older sister…"

Ariel hugged her sister tightly before speaking again, "I want to go look up there!" She pointed up to the ledge that hung over the side of the boat, "Will you come up there with me?"

Her sister nodded and they both reached up towards the ledge and lifted themselves up onto it. They each sat on either side of the window so they could look through and out onto the deck. Ariel smiled over at Attina before looking through the window. She could see men celebrating something, she didn't know what, but they all looked like they were having a good time. They were talking excitedly about something, and Ariel smiled as she listened to them talk.

"Congratulations, Eric." A thin, gangly man said as he patted another, much more muscular and younger man on the back.

The younger man, who must have been Eric, Ariel reasoned, smiled. "Thank you Grisby! You know, it turned out better than I thought it would I-" He got cut off my a big dog, which Ariel had only read about in her human books, "Oh, Max…you mutt…"

Ariel watched as Eric played with Max. She had never seen a human that close before, and she loved it. How she wished she could be by his side… _Oh, but I've just met him. _Ariel thought. _I certainly can't fall in love with him that quickly…_ But she knew better. She really was starting to like him. None of her sisters, and certainly never her father, would ever talk much about her mother, but she always imagined that it was love at first sight. That's what she was feeling at that moment, but she didn't realize it.

Her sister looked over at her and gasped, "You…you like him, don't you!" Her scream came out more like a whisper, "But…you've just seen him…"

"I do not like him!" Ariel whispered back, her cheeks flushed with pink, "I just…I just think he's…"

"Ariel, you like him. It's written all over your face…I've never seen you like this before." Attina sighed as she watched her sister's gaze go back to the man on the boat.

She didn't know what to think about her sister's enthrallment with this man that she had only just saw for the first time. _Could someone really fall in love that quickly?_ She wondered, but she knew the truth. Her father and mother had always told her that it was love at first sight between them. _But it was mutual!_ She thought. _They had both fallen in love…what if this man doesn't love her like she thinks he will?_ She worried about her sister a lot, but maybe it was time to let her go. Ariel was strong, she knew that, but there was something inside of her that didn't want to watch her little sister fall.

Attina looked around and got nervous, "What if they catch us? What if father finds out? Ariel, we must leave…we've got to."

But Ariel wasn't paying attention. All of her thoughts were focused on Eric. She watched as he animatedly played with his dog, and how happy he looked in that moment. She made sure that she was hidden from sight. That he couldn't see her, but she could fully see him. There was something charming about him that made Ariel's heart flutter. She still couldn't understand what, but she knew it made her feel warm and safe. The feeling was pleasant, and she didn't want it to stop.

The old man, whom Ariel assumed was Grisby, cleared his throat and the noise halted, "Silence, silence! Now, settle down…" Grisby huhed the crowd and then put his hand on Eric's shoulder, "As you all know, it's Eric's 21st birthday-" There was a round of cheers and he cleared his throat once again, "As I was saying, since it's his 21st birthday, I'd like to present him with a gift."

Ariel, along with every else, waited in anticipation. They watched as Grisby motioned for two of the men to pull off the sheet that was covering the gift, waiting to reveal the surprise. Ariel knew it'd be something spectacular. By the way everyone seemed so excited she just knew Eric would love it. _I wonder what it is… _Ariel let her imagination run away with her as she tried to guess. It was so big, possibly twice her height. She knew it couldn't be any of the things she had shown Scuttle recently, or maybe even ever. She'd never found anything that big under the sea.

She gasped as they finally pulled off the sheet to reveal the secret. _It's a statue! _Ariel smiled. _A statue of him! Oh, it looks so wonderful… _She looked over at Attina to see if she was just as impressed with the lavish gift Eric had just been presented. Her sister nodded at her and smiled, approving of the gift. Ariel was so excited for Eric, and her eldest sister could see that. But the thought of Ariel falling in love with the human, it was almost unbearable. _What if he actually does fall in love with her?_ She looked over at her sister and understood that any man could easily fall in love with her. And even though she wanted her sister to be happy, she didn't want her to leave Atlantica. It was their home, and it was where Ariel belonged.

Her attention was turned back to the commotion on the ship as Ariel sighed, "Oh Attina, look at him…isn't he just…wonderful? I just…oh gosh…"

"Ariel." Attina whispered harshly, "You mustn't get so flustered like that. Over a human…"

"But you don't understand." She looked back over at Eric, "He seems to different from what father says about humans…"

On the ship, Grisby asked Eric, "So, how do you like it? I hope it suits your taste…but I was hoping I would've been presenting you with a wedding…"

"Oh, Grisby, you know how I feel." Eric sighed as he looked up at the giant statue, a little unsure of whether he even liked the gift but he wasn't about to look ungrateful, "But it'll happen when it happens. I just haven't met the right girl…" He gazed out towards the beautiful ocean, unaware of how dangerously close he was getting to the little mermaid who sat beneath his gaze, "She's out there somewhere, I know it."

Ariel held her breath as she watched Eric look out, past her and towards the sea. _He could've caught me…_ She thought, but somehow, she wasn't sure if she'd be that upset if Eric had seen her. Although, she did know that her father would be fuming if he knew where she was right now, almost about to get caught by a human. _But Eric wouldn't hurt me, he just wouldn't. _She smiled up at him, even though he couldn't see her. She felt a hand on her wrist and soon found herself back into the ocean. She opened her eyes to see who had dragged her back into the water, and she saw Attina looking frightened.

"What was that for?" Ariel looked back up towards the boat longingly.

"Did you not see him?" Her sister looked about as upset as ever, "He could've caught us! Do you think he really would've treated us with mercy? Think of our mother."

Those words stung both of them, but Ariel wouldn't believe it. _Eric isn't like the humans father has always talked about._ She thought to herself. _He looked so sweet and calm…and lovely. He didn't look like he'd hurt anyone. Ever._ The red-headed girl knew, or at least she thought she knew, the type of person Eric was. He wasn't the evil demon her father had told her all humans were. Her father couldn't have been more wrong about this one, and she'd prove it.

There were flashes of light above the two mermaids and they both whipped their heads back at each other. _Oh no… _Ariel thought as she quickly swam back up to the surface. She gasped once her head got out of the water. Rain was pouring down and the waves looked harsh. The lightning shattered the air, and the sky was a bright mess of electricity. Ariel looked up at the ship and found that half of it was burning with fire. She gasped once more and looked around, trying to find a way to help them.

Eric, who was now trying to man the boat, could only watch as his boat was being hit with sea water and lightning. _What am I going to do? _He looked around, noticing he couldn't see his dog, Max, in the whole mess. Suddenly, a huge mast came tumbling down, aimed at him. He quickly, and skillfully, jumped out of the way, saving himself from sure death. He suddenly looked up and saw Max on the upper deck. He knew he needed to save his dog. It was his only companion and confident.

"Jump Max!" He yelled out, holding his arms out wide for the dog to jump into, "Come on boy, jump!"

The dog looked around, obviously frightened, and jumped into Eric's arms. He then ran, the dog in his arms, trying to get to the side of the boat. Suddenly, his foot got stuck in the floor and Max went flying out of his arms and into the water. He tried to get his foot unstuck, but it was no use. He knew this was going to be it. There was no other way. Out of the corned of his eye, he watched as the fire made its way to a barrel of fireworks. His eyes widened in horror as the ship started to blow up, knocking him unconscious.

Ariel was in horror. She knew she had to save him, and quick. _I won't let him die._ She promised herself as she swam towards the remains of the boat, trying desperately to find him. That was when she saw him, hanging over a board of wood. He then slipped off and down into the water. She dove in, catching him and bringing him back up to the surface. Fireworks exploded overhead as she swam to get him safely back to shore.

Attina, who had stayed underwater while all of this was happening, saw her sister carrying the man back to shore. _He must be dead! _She thought. _There's no way he could've survived that!_ She swam up to her sister and helped carry the limp man. She gave her sister a wary look, but chose not to say anything. What was she to say? Her sister couldn't possibly believe that there was hope for this man surviving the explosion of a ship.

Her younger sister sniffled, "I won't let him die, Attina."


End file.
